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Home , A Bunch of Stiff Records, A Pair of Brown Eyes, A Rainy Night in Soho, Bruce Thomas, Desmond Dekker, Dirty Old Town

Stiff Records Discography by David Edwards, Mike Callahan & Patrice Eyries © 2018 by Mike Callahan Discography

Stiff Records founded in 1976 by Dave Robinson and . Radio jocks usually referred to non-hit singles as “stiffs” (as in, dead), so the idea of Stiff Records was to release artists who couldn’t attract a mainstream audience (at least, at the . Several were later very successful). Early releases were “pub rock” artists, but this quickly evolved into . Rivera left to form in 1977 and took several artists with him.

Up to 1978, Stiff had released primarily singles and a few released outside the US. That year Stiff signed a deal with CBS to distribute their product in the US (the deal lasted to 1982). This put the label on the map here.

In 1984, Robinson sold Stiff Records to in , who entered into a short distribution deal with MCA for US releases. This incarnation of Stiff was not very successful, and Island wanted to dump the label. Robinson regained control of Stiff as an independent label in 1986, but immediately fell into a flow crisis and went bankrupt. ZTT Records bought it out of liquidation in 1987, where it remained dormant until 2006. That year, ZTT resurrected the imprint by signing new artists and reissuing old material.

Stiff STF-0001 Series (Distributed by Arista):

STF 0001 - Stiffs Live - Various Artists [1978] Recorded Live at The University of East Anglia, Norwich, Leicester University and The Lyceum, . (When She Used To ) - ’s Last Chicken In The Shop/Let’s Eat - Nick Lowe’s Last Chicken In The Shop/Semaphore Signals - & The New Rockets/Reconnez Cherie - Wreckless Eric & The New Rockets/Police Car - ’ Psychedelic Rowdies//I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself - and /Miracle Man- Elvis Costello and the Attractions/ and Make Love With Me - and Blockheads/ Dickie - Ian Dury and /Sex+Drugs+Rock+Roll+Chaos - All (Ian Dury with Nick Lowe, Chas Jankel, Davey Payne, Micky Gallagher, Charley Charles, , , , Elvis Costello, Steve Naive, Penny Tobin, Larry Wallis, , Denise Roudette, Wreckless Eric, and )

STF 0002 - New Boots And Panties!! - Ian Dury [1978] Wake Up And Make Love With Me/Sweet /I’m Partial To Your Abracadabra/My Old Man/Billericay Dickie//Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll/Clevor Trever/If I Was With A Woman/Blockheads/Plaistow Patricia/Blackmail Man

Note: Remainder of the STF series were primarily non-US singles.

Stiff USE-1 Series (Distributed by Columbia):

USE 1 - The Whole Wide World - Wreckless Eric [1979] (I’d Go The) Whole Wide World/Take The Cash (K.A.S.H.)/Lets Go To The Pictures/Walking On The Surface Of The Moon/Hit And Miss Judy/I Wish It Would Rain//Reconnez Cherie/Veronica/Brain Thieves/Semaphore Signals/I Need A Situation/The Final Taxi/There Isn’t Anything Else

USE 2 - New Boots And Panties!! - Ian Dury [1980] Reissue of Stiff 0002. Wake Up And Make Love With Me//I’m Partial To Your Abracadabra/My Old Man/Billericay Dickie//Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll/Clevor Trever/If I Was With A Woman/Blockheads/Plaistow Patricia/Blackmail Man

1 USE 3 - The Last Stiff Compilation - Various Artists [1980] Dance Stance - Dexy’s Midnight Runners/Win or Lose - Lew Lewis Reformer/Jumping Someone Else’s Train - /Bed and Breakfast Man- Madness/The Hurt - /White Mice - Mo-Dettes/The Man Wha Shot Liberty Valence - John Otway//Judy Get Down - Anthony More/Touch - Lori and the Chameleons/Hit and Miss judy - Wreckless Eric/Maybe Tomorrow -Chords/ - Motorhead/Flaires ‘n’ Slippers - Cockney Rejects/ - Damned

USE 4 - Crazy Feelings - The Feelies [1980] The Boy With The Perpetual Nervousness/Fa Cé-La/Loveless Love/Forces At Work//Original Love/Everybody’s Got Something To Hide (Except Me And My Monkey)/Moskow Nights/Raised Eyebrows/Crazy Rhythms

USE 5 - Deep Thought - John Otway [1980] (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance/Body Talk/DK 50/80/Cry Cry/Day After Day/Beware of the Flowers/Murder Man/Really free/Geneive/Louisa on a Horse/Can’t Complain/Cheryl’s Goin’ Home

USE 6 - Where Are All The Nice Girls? - Any Trouble [1980] Second Choise/Playing Bogart/Foolish Pride/Nice Girls/Turning Up The Heat//Romance/The Hurt/Girls Are Always Right/Honolulu/(Get You Off) The Hook

USE 7 - Black and Dekker - [1980] Israelites/Lickin’ Stick//Please Don’t Bend//Hippo//Juliet/007/Workout/Problems/ Train/Pickney Gal/Why Fight?

USE 8 - On The Other Hand There’s A Fist - [1980] The Baby, She’s On The Street/Laughing Tonight/Bang-A-Lang-A-Boom-Er-Rang-Man/The Fairground Ride/On The Road/Vous Et Moi//I’ll Get By In Pittsburgh/Bureaucrats/Hallelujah Europa/Police Trap/Feelin’ Stupid/The Last Supper At The Masquerade

USE 9 - New Hope For The Wretched - The [1980] Tight Black Pants/Monkey Suit/Living Dead/Test Tube Babies/Won’t You/Concrete Shoes/Squirm//Want You Baby/Dreamlover/Sometimes I/Corruption/Butcher Baby

USE 10 - The Gospel According To The Men in Black - [1981] Waltzinblack/Just Like Nothing On Earth/Second Coming/Waiting For The Meninblack/Turn The Centuries, Turn//Two Sunspots/Four Horsemen/Thrown Away/Manna Machine/Hallow To Our Men

WOW 11 - Beyond The Valley Of 1984 - The Plasmatics [1981] Incantation/Masterplan/Headbanger/Summer Nite/Nothing/Fast Food Service//Hit Man (Live Milan)/Living Dead/Sex Junkie/Plasma Jam (Live Milan)/Pig is a Pig

USE 12 - A Case of the Shakes - Dr. Feelgood [1980] Jumping from Love to lOve/Going Some Place Else/Best in the World/Punch Drunk/King for a Day/Violent Love//No Mo Do Yakamo/Love Hound/Coming to You/Who’s Winning/Drives Me Wild/Case of the Shakes

USE 13 - Wheels In Motion - Any Trouble [1981] Trouble With Love/Open Fire/As Lovers Do/Walking In Chains/Dimming Of The Day//Another Heartache/To Be A King/Power Cut/Eastern Promise/The Sun Never Sets

USE 14 - Avoid Freud - Rough Trade [1980] It’s A Jungle/High School Confidential/Lie Back, Let Me Do Everything/Physical Violence/I Can’t Take It//What’s The Furor About The Fuhrer?/Fashion Victim/Emotional Blackmail/Hostage/Grade B Movie

USE 15 - Compass Point - Desmond Dekker [1981] I’ll Get By/Moving On/We Can and Shall/Hurts So Bad//Come Back to Me/Cindy/I Do Believe-My Destiny/Big Headed/That’s My Woman/Allamanna

2 USE 16 - 7 - Madness [1981] Cardiac Arrest/Shut Up/Sign Of The Times/Missing You/Mrs. Hutchinson/Tomorrow's Dream///Pac-A-Mac/Promises Promises/Benny Bullfrog/When Dawn Arrives/The Opium Eaters/Day On The Town

USE 17 - Jukebox Dury - Ian Dury & The Blockheads [1981] /Reasons To Be Cheerful (Pt. 3)/Wake Up And Make Love With Me/There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards/Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick/Razzle In My Pocket//Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll/Inbetweenies/Common As Muck/Sweet Gene Vincent/I Want To Be Straight/You’ll See Glimpses

USE 18 - Hit And Run - Girlschool [1981] C’mon Let’s Go/The Hunter/(I’m Your) Victim/Kick It Down/Following The Crowd/Tush//Hit And Run/Watch Your Step/Back To Start/Yeah Right/Future Flash

Stiff WOW-600 Mini-LP Series (Distributed by Columbia):

Note: The WOW prefix is a nod to Wendy O. Williams, lead singer of the Plasmatics.

WOW 666 - - The Plasmatics [1981] (12" Mini-LP) Lunacy/Doom Song/Sex Junkie//Black Leather Monster/12 Noon/Masterplan

Stiff/Columbia/Epic 30000 Series (Distributed by Columbia):

JE 36101 - - [1978] Just My Style/B-A-B-Y/Who Does Lisa Like?/Wildwood Salloon/Stay Awhile/Suspended Animation//It’s So Different Here/Cuckoo Clock/Pin A Medal On Mary/Girl With A Synthesizer/Stranger In The House

JE 36102 - Stateless - [1978] Lucky Number/Sleeping Beauty/Home/Too Tender (To Touch)/Say When//Tonight/Writing On The Wall/Telepathy/Momentary Breakdown/One In A 1,000,000/I Think We’re Alone Now

JE 36103 - Gomm With The Wind - [1979] Hold On/Hooked On Love/Sad Affair/Black And White/Come On/Airplane//24 Hours Service/That’s The Way I Rock ‘N’ Roll/Dirty Lies/You Can’t Do That/Chicken Run/Another Year

JE 36104 - Do It Yourself - Ian Dury & The Blockheads [1979] Inbetweenies/Quiet/Don’t Ask Me/Sink My Boats/Waiting For Your Taxi//This Is What We Need/Uneasy Sunny Day Hotsy Totsy/Mischief/Dance Of The Screamers/Lullaby For Francies

JE 36308 - Flex - Lene Lovich [1979] Bird Song/What Will I Do Without You?/Angels/The Night/You Can’t Kill Me//Egghead/Wonderful One/Monkey Talk/Joan/The Freeze

Njc 36337 - Protect The Innocent - Rachel Sweet [1980] Tonight/Jealous/I’ve Got A Reason/New Age/Baby, Let’s Play House///Fools Gold/Take Good Care Of Me/Spellbound/Lovers Lane/Foul Play/Tonight Ricky

JE 36433 - What A Blow - Ian Gomm [1981] Man On A Mountain/Do It In Style/Jealousy/It Don’t Help/Here It Comes Again (That Feeling)/What A Blow//Nobody’s Fool/(Swayin’ To The Music) Slow Dancin’/(I’m In A) Heartache/I Like You, I Don’t Love You/I Just Wanna Stay Here/Jaguar

JE 36434 - Dirty Looks - Dirty Looks [1980] They Got Me Covered/Love Crimes/You Can’t Love Me/Lie To Me/Take A Life/Let Go//12 O’clock High/You’re Too Old/Accept Me/Disappearing/Drop That Tan

3 E 36463 - Big Smash! - Wreckless Eric [1980] A Pop Song/Tonight Is My Night/Too Busy/Broken Doll/Can I Be Your Hero?/Back In My Hometown//It’ll Soon Be The Weekend/Strange Towns/Excuse Me/Break My Mind/Good Conversation/Out Of The Blue

JE 36998 - Laughter - Ian Dury & The Blockheads [1980] Sueperman’s Big Sister/Pardon/Delusions Of Grandeur/Yes And No (Paula)/Dance Of The Crackpots/Over The Points//Take Your Elbow Out Of The Soup You’re Sitting On The Chicken/Uncoolohol/Hey, Hey, Take Me Away/Manic Depression (Jimi)/Oh Mr. Peanut/Fu**ing Ada

ARE 37077 - …And Then He Kissed Me - Rachel Sweet [1981] Shadows Of The Night/Then He Kissed Me/Be My Baby/Billy And The Gun/Party Girl//Two Hearts Full Of Love/Little Darlin’/Fool’s Story/ (With )/Streetheart

SE 37452 - New Toy - Lene Lovich [1981] Savages/Special Star/Never Never Land/Cats Away/Details/New Toy

ARE 38399 - No Man’s Land - Lene Lovich [1982] It’s You, Only You (Mein Schmerz)/Blue Hotel/Faces/Walking Low/Special Star//Sister Video/Maria/Savages/Rocky Road

Stiff/MCA 39000 Series (Distributed by MCA):

MCA 39023 - Beyond The Pale - Passion Puppets [1984] Like Dust/Overland/Terminal Culture/In Your Eyes/Fear Of Being Touched//Voices/Beyond The Pale/Crush That Suspicion Thing/New Way/Playground/Child

Stiff/MCA 5100 Series (Distributed by MCA):

MCA 5744 - Rum Sodomy And The Lash - [1985] The Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn/The Old Main Drag/Wild Cats Of Kilkenny/I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day//Sally McLennane///Jesse James/Navigator/Billy’s Bones/The Gentleman Soldier/And Played Waltzing Matilda

Stiff/MCA 36000 Series (Distributed by MCA):

MCA 36015 - - The Pogues [1986] London Girl///The Body Of An American/Planxty Noel Hill

MCA 36016 - Dance Party - The Untouchables [1986] Freak In The Street/(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone/Hey Ut’s//Free Yourself/I Spy (For The F.B.I.)/What’s Gone Wrong

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